First Aid Kit

Suggestions:

• Pocket-size first aid book 
  • e.g. Back Country First Aid and Extended Care, by Buck Tilton
• Trails Phone List
  • That includes emergency phone numbers
• Swiss army knife
• A hair comb and/or tweezers
  • To remove cactus spines
• Band-aids of various sizes
• Gauze
• Medical tape
• ACE bandage(s)
• Aspirin
  • For pain relief
  • For first aid for heart attack (aspirin, not ibuprofin or anything else)
• Benedryl 
  • For bee stings and allergies
• Rubber gloves
  • To reduce risk if you help someone who is bleeding
• A piece of hard candy 
  • In case you come across someone in diabetic distress
  • Put the candy under their tongue first - to see if they get better or worse from the sugar
• Power bar
  • In case you get caught in unexpected rain, or "hit the wall" and run out of energy
• Lighter
• Pen & paper
  • For recording medical vital signs
  • For recording descriptions of hazards, violators, etc.
  • For exchanging contact information 
• Bandana 
  • Can be used as tourniquet, bandage, or towel
  • Can be stuffed under hat to keep sun off your neck & ears
  • Can be soaked in water and placed on back of neck to cool your body more effectively than anything